That is great to know. For some reason I would not have thought to even try, which goes to show you how well Apple has held the line in their pricing over the years!
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Dear Apple: You have broke my heart.
- Thread starter coolbreeze2
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One thing I would have to say, is, SUPERIOR NOISE CANCELLING, for some people, is SO SO needed, for happiness.
People living in apartments, condos, etc, with neighbors who SUCK, either who play their music to loud for you or so you can play your music loud (in the headphones). I mean if these things can cancel 99% of the noise, man that's a good price!
People living in apartments, condos, etc, with neighbors who SUCK, either who play their music to loud for you or so you can play your music loud (in the headphones). I mean if these things can cancel 99% of the noise, man that's a good price!
I know you are being a little tounge-in-cheek here, but here is a serious take. While I could afford the headphones (maybe not the immenent divorce afterwards), they seem to be $150 over the nearest competition. For that upcharge the ANC and sound quality would need to be absolutely mindblowing. Especially since I'd need to buy a proper protective case for them for travel.
Pre-covid I traveled on long international flights 4x month. I always pack over ear ANC headphones for long flights and feel I arrive more rested. But they face stiff competition from BOSE and Sony at lower price points. Again, these really would need to have absolutely mindblowing ANC for them to be worth me considering. Time will tell.
Exactly what does this mean? Apple will discount only 10%? For example Best Buy has Solo pro for $179 and Apple has them for $299. Apple will only take off on $29 from $299?
I'm just hoping they're in the same ballpark for that feature - ie. notably better than in-ears.
For me, and I think quite a few people, things like the audio quality, call quality, fit and finish, should be in a total different class. Apple has at least an order of magnitude more resources to spend on R&D than competitors.
They're a premium consumer brand with a well-diversified product portfolio. As a s shareholder, seems like a great thing any way you slice it.
AS A SHAREHOLDER. Precisely. Apple put its bank account ahead of our 20 year love affair.
Apple has been a premium brand since its inception in '76. If anything, the fact that they expanded their market at the bottom end is the new thing.
Sorry to say, the love of your life has had trophy wife aspirations from the get-go.
They will price match to 10% of the competitions’ sale price. So if Best Buy etc. sells for more than 10% off, Apple will price match to 10% off.
And... you’re welcome.
They know they sold out of stock for 3 months within hours of launch.
They sell phones at the $1k+ and watches for $800. A lot of them. I don't get the arm-chair quarterbacking of market analysis when it comes to this company or really anything about what consumers will or won't do in regards to this brand.
In many cases Apple is the market maker when it comes to things like this.
I betcha it will kill the Beoplay in performance. Actual audiophiles don't take B&O seriously, they're known as a lifestyle brand - like a somewhat better Bose with premium materials. Apple's R&D budget is likely orders of magnitude greater.
You’re not wrong, but that doesn’t tell the entire story of how much stock there was in the first place.
I don’t necessarily feel that $549 is too much for a pair of headphones (I own the $799 Audeze EL-8 Titanium... that I got for $199 refurbished) but for these to become a massive hit and sustain popularity like AirPods they need to hit a $349-$399 price point, in my opinion. I believe they’ll accomplish that with the fitness-oriented version.
Hey Michael. I believe I chat with you over on Headfi. For any person who dabbles in Headphones as a hobby, $549 isn't too high. The problem here is, even one of the best Wireless ANC headphones I've heard, the Dali iO-6, are cheaper at $499. And those are geared toward audiophiles. They have little to no features. Apple has set a new pricing benchmark for Wireless ANC headphones. When you look at the price of other heavy hitters like the Sennheiser Momentum 3, Shure Aonic 50, Sony XM4, etc, these really need to hit a home run when it comes to sound for me. From what I'm seeing, most of the Max's key features are dependent on owning Apple products. My concern is that these are just a money grab from Apple aimed at Celebrities and hard core Apple fans. I really hope I'm wrong. Looking forward to reviews which should start trickling in next week
I've been a member at head-fi since Jan 2005, was a lurker since 2003 (handle: bobeau). I've been to several CanJams and have hosted my own meets. I've owned over $50k in headphone related equipment over the years.
I predict you're wrong on this one. Apple's R&D budget is *way* beyond these competitors, and it's clear to me based on the performance 1st of the Airpods Pro and more recently their Homepod line, they're not messing around.
Yes very upsetting price. A product that reviews alone can't show us everything.
You gotta be able to test them out and that may not be likely depending on the store.
You gotta be able to test them out and that may not be likely depending on the store.
Apple has created a niche product high-end high price, and that is fine, but, they are using the marketing term for a consumer product (AirPods) and that is where I think the struggle is coming from as we expected a (high-end) consumer product that is affordable for more people ...
I still don’t feel that these belong under the AirPods branding. AirPods are truly wireless headphones that revolutionized an entire industry. AirPods Max is a premium over-ear headphone from Apple. Nothing more, nothing less.
I was going to start an entire thread about this, but ultimately backed out under the assumption that maybe there is more innovation going on here than it appears at first glance.
Hey Maukey, I immediately recognized your name. Nice to see you on here for a conversation about AirPods Max
.$549 isn’t considered to be a crazy price point for a high-end headphone. In fact, for many companies in the audiophile space like Audeze it’s not even the middle ground.
The problem for Apple is that no matter how good AirPods Max sounds (and you know I love my Rtings measurements), its direct competition from Bose and Sony costs quite a bit less. Even Sennheiser Momentum 3.0, with its metal-and-leather build, is available for around $300.
In Apple’s defense, the Sony XM4 is a plastic build and I wasn’t super impressed with the XM3. Build quality, sound quality, and connectivity are all lacking. They’re not wrong to test the market to see if it can bear $549 for a premium noise-canceling headphone. I just don’t think it’s sustainable over the long run. The price will more than likely normalize around $399.
I don’t think the price in itself is an issue. I just wish there was one major innovation that makes it distinctly stand out from other over-ear headphones.Getting the popcorn out to munch while people debate the worthiness of the price
People complained about the price of AirPods and compared them to EarPods, when they ended up being a great value compared to other truly wireless alternatives and frankly established the category.
